The Chronicles of Fire: Sparks in the Grass
by katieella89yahoo.co.uk
Summary: Once Upon A Time in a land the same as ours there was a war...It's 1976 and the Marauders are preparing for their 6th year at Hogwarts, however, they still have the fallout from Lily and Severus's friendship to deal with, not to mention the gang of Slytherins that seem hell-bent on bringing the gruesome war that is raging around them into the walls of the castle.
1. Introduction

The Chronicles Of Fire: Sparks in the Grass.

"Youth is a dream, a form of chemical madness."

― F. Scott Fitzgerald

"So wise so young, they say, do never live long."

― William Shakespeare

A MARAUDERS ERA FANFICTION

KATIE MCCANN

JK. Rowling & Affiliates


	2. Prologue

Once Upon A Time in a land the same as ours there was a war.

Once Upon a Time there was a girl who smelt like cigarettes, nail polish and the sun, with a flaming red mane like a halo born straight out of hell itself.

The girl was Magic in more ways than one and had passion behind her bright green eyes.

Her eyes.

He thought that's what first drew him to her- if you could pinpoint only one detail. Her eyes were the kind of green that trudged through piles of snow and slush to remind you spring was on its way, the colour of a forest after a storm, or the first sprouting of grass after a fire. She looked like hope.

He needed hope. He needed hope like he needed air, constantly and always.

He had liked her for a while, admiring from afar before declaring himself to her.

She didn't look like hope as the first rejection spilled from her lips.

He smelt like cheap wine and cigarettes.

Until he didn't.

Until what spilled from her lips was bashful admittance, of blush over ivory cheeks and coy smiles.

He still smelt like cigarettes but the wine was of a more expensive variety and the sun and the acetone merged when they collided into a mess of emotions and lust.

Until lust became love; then they smelt like rain and roses, like earth and wood and dust on a summers' day.

And cigarettes.

Always the cigarettes.

Once Upon a Time two children fell in love in a war, in a collision, in an explosion.

And there wasn't a happily ever after.


	3. Chapter one: Dog Days of Summer

**Chapter 1: Dog Days Of Summer**

A drowsy silence lay over the rows of dilapidated brick houses, the windows thrown open in a desperate and unfounded attempt to invite any breeze that may be passing by, inside.

The inhabitants of Cokeworth had resigned themselves to the cooler interiors of their homes to cope with the heat wave that was currently griping Britain; it was the hottest summer for 350 years and there hadn't been a scrap of rain in weeks. Bar a few children in the small park on the top of the hill, the town was relatively deserted. It was an uneventful day to say the least, and being the final weeks of the school holiday's many parents had run out of ways to occupy their children.

In fact, the only person who had ventured outside over the age of ten was a red- headed teenage girl walking in laps around the block. She wore a frown and kicked each rock that she came across with great force. Her clothes were in date (if a bit out of style) and strands of red hair were falling out of a messy bun pilled on the top of her head.

The girl took another long drag from her cigarette, blowing the smoke into the non existent wind.

Lily Evans shuffled along the sidewalk, same as she had been doing for the past half an hour, trying to calm herself down enough to return home (she had so far been unsuccessful). As much as she tried, the fight she had just had with her sister was playing on a loop in her mind.

Arguments between the two sisters were common, if not expected when Lily came home from the holidays. Petunia had always resented Lily and her 'Special talents' as their parents put it.

This particular feud had sprung up after Lily had emptied a flask of frogspawn into her sisters tea, because _Good God Tuney, get over yourself!_

It took Petunia several minutes of shrieking to compose herself enough to get angry, and Mrs. Evans came home to the all- too- familiar sound of her daughters having a row in the kitchen.

"But mum, Lily started it!" Petunia protested when her mother discovered the cause of the argument.

"Only because you were being a absolute berk!" Lily retorted.

"I was not!"

"Let's see, there was letting Blinky out of his cage in your idiotic attempt to try to get him lost, your habit of throwing anything of mine that has anything to do with magic in the bin and how you can't seem to get your head out your –"

It was at this point that Mrs. Evans intervened, cutting Lily off before she could finish her scathing indictment of her sister. And, after giving the girls a lecture on getting along and how she expected the girls to _improve their attitudes towards one another- I won't have this sort of conflict under my roof._ She sent the sisters to calm down and the young witch had promptly left the house and hadn't returned for the remainder of the afternoon.

The sun was setting over the top of an immense chimney, one of the only remnants of the disused mill. _Time to go home_ , Lily thought. She heaved a sigh, crushed her cigarette under foot and turned around to walk through the alleyway, joining the road she was currently trudging along and Spinner's End. She tried to avoid Spinner's End, least she run into her former best friend, Severus Snape. She had been avoiding him for over a month and it was proving more difficult than Lily had anticipated.

She breathed a mixed sigh of relief and disappointment when she turned into Hamel Court without an appearance from Severus. How she would like to just sit and talk with him, he would understand what was going on with her sister. He was the only one with whom she told everything. Or at least, he had been.

She cast him out of her mind, what he said was unforgivable. Some things she could let slide or seek an apology out of, but 'mudblood' was on another level.

Lily dragged her feet along the pathway, leading up to the door of her house. She couldn't wait to go back to Hogwarts, she loved her parents immensely but they were more often than not, working. Petunia was rarely in (which may have been a good thing) and as such, without the company of Severus, she was left alone most days.

She silently slipped her key in the door and hurried up the stairs and, not being in the mood for another argument, she bypassed her sisters closed door and ducked into her own room. The witch collapsed on the faded duvet, emotionally drained and ready for bed, she could just feel herself slipping into unconsciousness when a loud knock on her bedroom door startled her into wakefulness.

"Lily, it's dad, can I come in?" Her fathers voice was loud and booming even when he made a distinct effort in being subtle.

"Yeah, I guess." She stifled a yawn.

The worn out door creaked open and Mr. Evans poked his head inside. "I think we need to have a little chat."

"Okay..." Lily said, hesitantly pulling herself into sitting position.

"Look, you've got to cut Petunia some slack." He tentatively said, perching on the foot of her bed.

She felt hurt, "Why should I? She's the one who can't accept me for who I am." She replied, making no attempt to hid the defensive tone in her voice.

He sighed, "Look, Lily. You've got to understand how Petunias' feeling. You go away to Hogwarts for most of the year and she's left at home, then you come back and she's thrown for a loop." He looked at her through his spectacles, the weariness of age showing.

"How is that fair? I didn't choose to be born a witch and go to Hogwarts. I didn't choose to have my sister hate me when I get enough of that in the wizarding world!" She nearly yelled, her tiredness forgotten.

"What do you mean you get enough of that in the wizarding world?" Mr. Evans asked, perplexed.

Lily froze; she wasn't supposed to say that, her parents would worry and fret if they knew the truth.

"Err... nothing, doesn't matter." She covered, hurriedly. "If Petunia hates me then that's her issue." She rushed, changing the subject back.

"I just want you to know what she's feeling right now, maybe it might bring you two closer with a bit of mutual understanding." Her father said, getting up from the bed and walking back to the door.

"I want you two to make up, Lily, This is getting ridiculous, a little forgiveness and compassion can go a long way, I want you to remember that." He closed the door with a silent _click_ and left Lily sitting alone in the dark.

 _I really need a fucking cigarette_ , she thought as the sound of footsteps in the hall faded. _Or something stronger._

 _HOOT HOOT_

"If that bloody bird doesn't shut up!" Lily muttered vindictively the next morning while mothering her face in her pillow in an attempt to drown out the ungodly noise excreting from her bird, Blinky, in the corner of the room.

 _HOOT HOOT_

"Why don't you ever _sleep_?" Lily fruitlessly asked the owl as she rolled out of bed and dragged her way across the room.

Blinky gave a cheerful peck as she undid the clasp on the cage.

"Yeah, yeah, you love me NOW." She muttered, picking the small owl up and allowing him to hop up her arm, onto her shoulder.

"The amount of noise you make, you'd think I never let you see the light of day," she murmured, tickling his feathers. "Come on then."

Leading Blinky over towards the open window she sent him on his way, watching him from her bed till he was less than a miniature brown dot on the horizon.

Turning with a groan, she threw her robe on and went downstairs, a noticeable rumble in her stomach too prominent to allow her to continue sleeping.

Her mother was sitting in the living room drinking a cup of tea from a chipped mug, Petunia was also sitting on the sofa, but Lily made a point of ignoring her, her father's speech still ringing guiltily in her ears.

"That bird is _quite_ annoying, dear." Her mother said in a warm tone.

"Yeah, I know. _Trust_ me. He just doesn't like being locked up 's all." She replied, flicking on the kettle.

"I don't even know why you have an owl at all, it's ridiculous and makes such a mess."

Lily could almost hear her Petinuas upturned nose in her comment

Lily gritted her teeth, and focused on her tea.

Mrs. Evans gave a loud tut in the direction of the television set. "Have you seen this? Another two murders overnight!"

"Murders?" Her irksome sister forgotten, Lily was more alert.

"Yes, down in Suffolk." Her mother said taking another sip of her drink.

"Did they say how they were killed?"

"No, they didn't actually. That's strange- usually give details..." Her mother trailed off.

Lily's eyebrows furrowed, _wizard murders_ she thought. Muggles couldn't trace the killing curse and these sorts of attacks were common, now the war was fully out- in- the- open.

She knew, but her parents and sister didn't, that the terrible events that had been occurring lately, weren't a series of random, unfortunate events. They were calculated acts to insight terror within both the magical and muggle communities. Death Eaters, as they had begun to call themselves, were savaging the country; you couldn't open a paper or turn the television on without being confronted with stories of murder or panic, and it was no accident that Lily had chosen not to tell her parents of the war that was going on right under their noses.

Her sister and mother had evidently moved on, and were now discussing the latest product displayed on the T.V, some new spangled hoover that's suction was apparently ten times that of it's competitors.

Petunias sole goal (or so it seemed) was to get married and have children as quickly as socially acceptable, something vastly different to her sister's ambitions.

Although Lily, at the age of 16, hadn't sat down and planned her _entire_ life out, knew she detested the idea of the 'ordinary' life that Petunia so desperately desired.

Lily hurried back upstairs after eating, her late order of the Daily Prophet was due to arrive shortly, and the birds didn't take too kindly to tardiness.

Her room was what you would expect from a teenage girl, light and coloured in yellow with a record player in pride of place on the dresser. However if you looked closely at the posters, books and photographs that were dotted around the room, you would find that this was not home to a normal teenager. For the posters were not of her favorite football team but for a thing called Quidditch and the photographs moved in their frames, while the books held such abnormal titles like _History Of Magic_ and _Spellman's Syllabary_.

On her small desk, lay the latest letter from her friend Marlene McKinnon, it had arrived a couple days ago and Lily had been meaning to reply.

Marlene and Lily had been friends for six years, she was the closest friend she had outside of Severus and although Marlene hadn't exactly encouraged the friendship between the Slytherin and Gryffindor, Lily knew she meant well and after the fiasco of the previous year she couldn't exactly hold it against her, although, to Marlene's credit, she never once said 'I told you so.'

Marlene was the living embodiment of the phrase _beach babe_ with her blonde hair and blue eyes she looked very out of place against the Scottish countryside where they spent most of the year.

Lily scanned the letter again, deciding what to pen in her response while she waited for the Prophet owl.

 _'The shop has been hectic... Mum, dad AND Martha have all been run off their feet with work at the ministry.'_

Marlene had a very influential family, her mother was Senior Undersecretary to the Minster and her father was head of the department for International Co- operation. Her older sister had recently qualified as an auror and as such, they shunted Marlene to her Aunts where she was put to use in the family sweet shop.

 _'Bertie- Botts has released 47 new flavors! Just when I thought they had got them all... I'll bring a heap for the train ride... Seen Snape at all? I hope not, you should stay away from him, now more than ever...'_

 _'I heard from Gemma Xing that Marsha Sullivan saw Rommie Donaldson and Albert Miller canoodling behind Madame Malkins last week! Can you believe it? I was so sure that him and Rose Swire were for keeps!'_

Lily rolled her eyes, smiling a little. Marlene loved gossip, she was the unofficial president of the Hogwarts rumor mill, and she lived and breathed rumors.

 _'Anyway... I hope you haven't done your school shopping yet; I'm going down in a few days and would love some company. Owl me with your response ASAP.'_

 _'Hope to see you in a few days, if not then I'll meet you on platform 9 ¾ September 1st (you know the drill)'_

 _'All of my love,'_

 _'Marlene'_

Lily scribbled a response, saying that, no she hadn't done he shopping and yes, she would very much like to join her in the week, although she would have to pick her up. She purposely avoided the subject of Snape, and, scribbling her name at the bottom, sealed the letter in an envelope and put it on her dresser for Blinky when he returned.

She only had to wait two minutes before the Prophet owl came, she shoved one Knut into its pouch and quickly glanced at the front page, sure enough it read:

TWO MUGGLES DEAD IN DEATH EATER ATTACK THAT HAS SHAMED FAILING AUROR OFFICE.

She began to read the article but was interrupted by her own name being called shrilly from downstairs.

Picking herself up, she lent over the banister, not bothering to walk down the stairs.

"I'm going out with some friends, don't do anything stupid while I'm gone." Petunia told her as she rifled through her handbag.

"Yup." Lily replied curtly.

"And don't invite any of your freaky friends round while I'm gone. Mum and dad have gone to work and I would rather they came back to the house in one piece."

Lily, remembered her fathers talk and held her tongue, retreating to her bedroom as her sister slammed the door on her way out, where, to her surprise Blinky was sat perched on her desk, a dead mouse in his beak.

"You were quick today, must be a record." She told the bird as she attached her letter to the owl's leg and led him, once again, to the window.

"This is for Marlene, okay? Make sure she gets it." Giving him a kiss on the head, she sent him off again.

After throwing the mouse out the window into the garden bed below ( _the cats can have it_ she thought), she grabbed the newspaper from where she had left it on her desk, opened it up and started reading.

 _The muggles, Martha Stark (28) and John Limp (33) from Nottingham, were on a date at their local cinema complex (a muggle form of entertainment) when they were ambushed by passing death eaters unknown._

Lily stopped reading there; the papers had been printing stories like that all holidays. The only difference was the name of the victim on the page.

She set the paper down and plonked herself on the bed, lying in the steadily growing heat of the day.

Her mind drifted to her friends, and she wondered what they would be doing on the hot August day; Marlene would probably be reading Witch Weekly and lounging in the back of her Aunts sweet shop she thought. Emmeline, her other closest friend would worrying about something or another as she tended to do.

Lily had received countless letters from all her friends, nearly all of them were just as bored as she was, sitting in the heat, doing nothing, most of whom were just as keen as she was to get back to school when September first came...

The next few days blended together in a haze of heat and dust. The humidity wasn't letting go of the grip it had on the small island and there was no rain to release the hold. Marlene had replied promptly to her letter and the girls had arranged for Lily to be picked up the next Friday, around 11, and stay at the Leaky Cauldron till September First, where they would catch the Hogwarts Express together, meeting up with Emmeline either at diagon alley or on the train.

Lily woke up very early on Friday, the sun streaming in from her window and sending sun spots behind her eyelids. She lay for a few minutes with the sun on her face before she started the slow process of getting up and beginning to pack.

Grabbing her trunk, she tipped out the contents of last term and went around her room, throwing the things she needed for the next, onto her bed.

She was stuck under her bed, searching for her other trainer when she heard her mother calling her name.

Swearing, as she banged her head on the underside of her bed, she crawled out and dodged her way round the mess of clothes and books that was littering her floor, into the hall.

"Yeah, mum?" She called, leaning over the bannister.

"I'm going to work now, come out and give me a kiss before I go."

Jumping the stairs two at a time, she landed on the lower landing the same time her mother appeared around the doorframe.

"Ooh, come here." Mrs. Evans said, embracing her youngest daughter in a hug. "I'll miss you, make sure you write every week, and be sure to come home at Christmas."

"I will mum, promise." Lily replied, pulling away from her mothers hug.

"Love you, darling." Mrs. Evans said as she opened the door and started to head down the path.

"Love you too." Lily watched her mother's car speed away till it was no longer visible, before returning to her room to finish the arduous task of packing for the term.

Her father left with a similar exchange a few minutes later, leaving just Petunia and Lily in the house. With her trunk packed and in the hall and herself dressed, showered, and ready to go, she was left to sit with her rather uncomftable looking sister in the living room, watching a show neither of them liked.

Lily looked out the window when it was five to eleven; she hoped that Marlene would be prompt. Sitting awkwardly with her sister wasn't her idea of a good time.

As she looked out the window, she saw a rather pretty girl with a wave of golden hair and fine features that were dangling dangerously out the window of a black car, waving madly as they raced up the street and pulled up next to the house.

A broad grin, spreading onto her face, Lily raced out the door and dashed past the path, throwing the gate open as she went.

"LILY!" Marlene screamed as she jumped from the car, engulfing Lily in a hug.

"Marlene! I've missed you." Lily said, as she hugged her friend.

"Geez, you two. You'd think you hadn't seen each other in a year!" An older girl said as she got out the driving seat of the car.

"Martha!" Lily exclaimed, drawing back from Marlene and moving to embrace her older sister.

"I thought you'd be at work!" Lily said, surprised. 

"I was but I managed to get off for an hour, Frank's covering for me."

"Come on then! Let's get your trunk!" Marlene squealed, pulling Lily towards the house, the excitement in her voice clear and the smile on her face, broad.

"Where's your sister?" Martha asked as they entered the hallway.

"She should be around." Lily replied, peering round a doorframe, making a feeble attempt to look for her. "I'll go get my things."

Marlene and Lily headed towards her room while Martha remained in the living room.

"So... what's been going on?" Lily asked as she heaved her trunk off her bed, wincing at the crash it made as it hit the floor.

"Sweets, sweets and more sweets! I swear, I see one more fizzing whizbee I'm going to loose it." She said, grabbing the other end of the trunk.

The girls pulled the trunk down the stairs, wincing as it hit each step.

"Thank God for lightening charms."

"You ready to go?" Martha asked, as the girls reached the bottom of the stairs. Petunia was stood next to her, shooting wary glances at the witch.

"Yeah, I'm ready." Blinky would follow behind, Lily thought, he was good at tracking.

Martha and Marlene were in the car, Lily's trunk, tucked into the boot while Lily herself was standing by the door of the little house, saying goodbye to her sister.

"So... I'll see you at Christmas, will I?" Lily asked.

"I suppose."

"Well, goodbye then."

"Goodbye." Petunia said, curtly shutting the door in Lily's face.

"Oii, Lily! Hurry up, I want to get to London" Marlene shouted, hanging half way out the car.

"Coming." Lily said, retreating from the shut door and clambering inside the little car, hiding her disappointment in her sister from her friend.

"This week is going to be so good, the leaky caldron is usually so busy this time of year but mum managed to get us a room." Marlene said as Martha pulled out of the cul-de-sac.

"Emmeline might be meeting us there tomorrow." Lily said, peering out the window, watching her street race by.

"Are you excited?" Marlene asked. "We're sixth years now! N.E. are starting, are lives are beginning!"

"More nervous than anything I think." Lily said as she thought about the busy year ahead.

"It'll be fun! Just think, a week from now we'll be back in our rooms, bossing the younger kids around. PLUS, sixth years get loads of free lessons." Marlene said, her eyes wide with anticipation.

"I wouldn't bargain so much on those free lessons, you'll need it for study, trust me." Martha said from the front of the car.

"Oh shush you! Stop being such a spoil sport." Marlene said, a smile still on her face.

"I'm looking forward to it." Lily said grinning. "I mean, we've only got two more years left at Hogwarts."

"I'm looking forward to the Quidditch season the most. Potter won us the cup last year, he better do it again."

"I think he'd jump off the astronomy tower himself if he lost." Lily said, thinking of the dark- haired Quidditch captain.

"Speaking of Potter..." Marlene said, suggestively.

"Not happening Marlene." Lily said laughing. "No matter how many times you suggest it." 

"But you would be perfect for each other!" She stressed.

"What makes you say that? Just because you don't like Snape doesn't mean I have to start dating the polar opposite."

"It's got nothing to do with Snape. But it does have everything to do with true love and soul mates, which is exactly what you and James are!" She insisted.

Lily just laughed in response, "Remember in 4th year when you were convinced that Emmeline and Josh Lewkins were written in the stars?"

"That was a mistake, a one time fluke. But this is different, you are made for each other!"

Lily just laughed again.

There was a shimmering gleam in Marlene's eye. "Mock me all you like, Lily Evans, but we'll see who's laughing in the end.


	4. Chapter two:Trouble Making encounters

**Chapter 2: Encounters of the trouble- making kind**

Diagon Alley was full to bursting when Sirius Black and James Potter stepped through the concealed brick gateway into the wizarding high street.

"Blimey Padfoot!" James exclaimed, nearly swallowing his freshly lit cigarette in alarm.

Sirius was irked "Where the _hell_ did all these people come from?" He moaned as they pushed their way through the hoards of shoppers towards the stores.

"Merlin knows," James said after spluttering his fag out. "Tom wasn't lying when he said it was busy," He squeezed past an oblivious elderly witch, "Come on, Padfoot, Quality Quidditch Supplies is calling me."

He readjusted his glasses, which had fallen slightly to the tip of his nose. Spotting the store he rushed over to the wood- fronted shop. He took a last drag of his Muggle cigarette and squashed it before stepping through the door.

Sirius, not too far behind entered the store a second later with the ringing of the bell over the door that should have announced their arrival but was impossible to hear over the noise of store.

It was filled with small children who had slipped away from their parents and Hogwarts aged students who were perusing the shelves.

James scanned around for a second before spotting exactly what it was he was so desperate to glance.

"Padfoot! Have a look at this!" James said, excitedly, making his way over to the large window display at the front of the store. "The new Nimbus 1500." A reverence most reserve for religion coating his words. Wrangling his way past the children, he reached the front. "I knew they'd have it in stock, I checked before we came." James said, without removing his gaze from the broom.

"How much do you reckon it costs?" Sirius asked after pushing his own way to the front.

"Over 500 galleons at least." James replied nonchalantly, "This is the first time I've seen it in person, _Which Broomstick?_ Says it's the fastest broom they've ever reviewed."

"You going to get it?"

"I'm asking for Christmas."

Sirius smirked at his friend's spoilt nature, "Who do you reckon will get Quidditch Captain now that Ingram has left? Fly Alcorn?" Sirius veered the subject, leaning casually against the glass (much to the exasperation of the flustered looking manager).

"No way! You know how seriously McGonagall takes Quidditch and he's a git half the time."

"And you're not much better." A new croaky, voice said from behind.

The boys turned to find an exhausted looking Remus Lupin, smiling broadly at them.

"Moony!" James exclaimed, embracing his friend.

"I thought we were meeting tomorrow?" Sirius added as he clasped Remus's shoulder. "Hold that thought, let's get out of here." Sirius winced as an 11 year old ducked under his arm to get a better view. "The stickiness is contagious."

Remus had grown significantly over the holidays, James observed, and had the appearance as though he hadn't quite got the hang of how to hold himself with his extended limbs. He now surpassed both Sirius and James in height, a fact, James tried not to let bother him.

They three boys made their way out of the store and down the cobbled street towards the leaky cauldron.

"When did you get to London?" James asked Remus as they edged their way past a group of chatty 12 year olds.

"This morning, actually. Mum and dad dropped me off, I'm only _suppose_ to be here for a day or so to get my school things, but I think I could persuade them to let me stay longer."

"You just can't resist us, can you Moony?" Sirius joked.

"Yeah, lets juts go with that." Remus mumbled sarcastically as Sirius ruffled his hair.

"Come on, this heat is stifling, lets' get a drink." James opened the wooden door into the bar. The boys entered and slipped into a booth in the corner of the room.

"I'll grab the butterbeers." Sirius proclaimed, heading over towards the counter, where Tom the innkeeper was serving.

James pulled the half- empty packet of fags from his jean pocket and slipped one out. He started a fire with the Muggle lighter he'd nicked from Muggle Studies last year and lit the cigarette, inhaling deeply, as though it had been a week, let alone an hour since his last.

Remus shook his head. "You're addicted!"

James blew a puff of smoke into Remus judgmental face. "I'm not the only one who smokes Moony. Go bother them."

"You sound like Lily." He rolled his eyes muttering distasfuly.

James paused, "I do?"

"Prongs, what is going on with you and her?" Remus asked abruptly.

"Why'd you say that, did she say something to you?" James asked, a bit too feverously.

"Have you forgotten what your letters were filled with? 'Oh Moony, do you think she'll forgive me?' 'Oh Moony, I was an idiot. 'Oh Moony, help me!'" He said in mocking tones.

"Shove off, you're her friend, I thought you might be able to talk to her for me…"

"Sorry to tell you mate, but I think you're on your own for this one, you should talk to her yourself."

"Why do that when you can do it for me though?" He petitioned.

Remus remained skeptical. "She's hardly going to pay much attention to your mate talking you up, is she?"

James gave a reluctant sigh, "You know what Moony? I think you're too wise for your own good."

"What are you ladies jabbering about?" Sirius teased as he set the three butterbeers down in front of them.

"Just talking about how James needs to actually talk to Lily in person if he wants to properly apolagise to her." Remus said, taking a sip and peering up at James and Sirius.

"HA!" Sirius exclaimed loudly (or at least loud enough for several patrons to turn and glare at him). "I _told_ you that you have to talk to her, see, you should listen to my advice more often, Prongs."

Sirius leaned back, gracefully flicking his hair out of his eyes as he took a sip.

"Yeah, yeah; whatever you say Padfoot…" James smirked at his friend's proclamation.

Sirius's exaltation was short lived "Okay, enough of that. We only have a week left till school starts, now that we're N.E.W.T students we need a larger than life prank to ring in the school year."

"Lets see… what _haven't_ we done…" Remus mused.

"Well, there was the time we dyed the entire schools hair maroon and gold when Gryffindor won the Quidditch cup…"

"Or when we charmed the sorting hat to only speak Icelandic."

"What about when we confounded all of the Slytherins owls so all of their mail got miss- delivered."

"Where in Merlin's name is Peter?" James wondered out loud. "As much fun as it is planning our next escapade, we can't have one of our ranks MIA."

"Unfortunately true. Where is Wormy anyway?" Sirius sighed.

"Wouldn't know, he said he was coming today, his letter said he would arrive around eight." Remus explained, checking his battered wristwatch. "It's 9:30 now, he's late."

"When is he not? That kid couldn't tell the time if his life depended on it." James laughed.

Sirius chugged the last few mouthfuls of Butterbeer and stood up, "Come on then, lets go see if he's gotten lost somewhere."

Remus and James did the same with their drinks and followed Sirius out of the bar and into the front room of the pub. It was teeming with patrons talking animatedly.

"How, in Merlin's name are we going to find him in this mess?" James complained as they scowred over what they could see in their immediate vicinity.

"You two should take one side each, I'll go straight through the middle." Sirius said.

Rolling his eyes, Remus hopped on top of the nearest table, ignoring the perplexed looking occupants and shouted, "Excuse me, we've lost our friend; Peter Pettigrew are you here?"

The bar was silent for a beat before a mousy blonde bob peeked up above the crowd.

"Remus, hey, hey, Moony! I'm over here." The bob called out, Peter- for that's who it was- pushed his way through to the side of the counter where his fellow Marauders were standing.

Remus hopped off the table the same time Peter squeezed past an elderly wizard to get to where his friends were standing.

Peter was a boy whom it would be polite to call chubby; with his short stature and unusually pointed features, he was quite different- physically- from his three best friends.

"What happened to you Wormy?" Sirius asked, "You were suppose to meet us an hour ago."

"Oh, I just got lost in the crowds. I went up to 10 different people I thought were you lot. Nearly got hit twice." He said, slightly out of breath from his jog across the room.

James laughed, and ruffled the much shorter Peter's hair, "Come on then, you nearly missed the planning stage of our back- to- school prank."

Peter's eyes lit up, "Ooh! What are we doing?" He asked eagerly, clasping his hands together in excitement.

"We're not sure yet, but its got to be something big, something people will be talking about for months afterwards. We've only got two more years to cement ourselves as the greatest pranksters and mischief makers Hogwarts has ever seen." Sirius exclaimed with a flourish.

"You know, if we stopped now, I think that title would still be ours." Remus laughed.

"I think you could be right." Sirius said, thinking of their many exploits.

"Let's wander around Diagon Alley for a bit, I think the crowds have thinned out, we might have a bit of breathing room if we're lucky." Remus said, craning his neck to get a look out the window. "We've got plenty of time to plan later."

The quartet moved back out into the street, Remus was right, the crowds had died down, and the older bunch had gone, leaving only back- to- school shoppers behind.

With the majority of the crowd already dispersed they were able to get a much better look at the shops, however there was still a rather large crowd around the Nimbus 1500.

"James, you're drooling." Remus chided as they passed.

"Hey, that is the finest piece of flying machinery that has come out of the Nimbus Racing Broom Company, since their first model Nimbus 1000 in 1967." James said, craning his neck to get a decent view.

"Come on mate, let's skip the history lesson, yeah?" Sirius said, taking him by the shoulder and pulling him past the store.

"You just don't appreciate fine racing brooms like I do,"

"Your obsessed Prongs admit it." Peter said.

"I'll call you when I check into rehab."

They continued to saunter down the street as though they owned all they passed. Running into several Hogwarts students as they went.

They said a quick hello to some Hufflepuffs before finding their roommate, fellow 6th year Gryffindor, Braden Cavill.

"Hi guys!" He said as the quartet approached him at his table at Fortescue's. "What are you lot up to?" he asked, smiling.

Braden was the kind of person you couldn't help but get along with; he looked like a male model, with his chiseled jawline and piercing blue eyes.

"They've turned out in droves today," Remus said, as they ran into yet another Hogwarts student, Kingsley Shacklebolt, a handsome (and rather dignified looking 7th year).

"S'pose people want to get their shopping over and done with?" James ventured to guess.

"No, I think it's because people are scared there's going to be an attack on Diagon Alley and they think the earlier they come the less likely the chance they'll run in to a group of Death Eaters." Sirius said insightfully.

"I didn't know you could carry a thought long enough to pan that one out, Padfoot." James said, diffusing the slight gloom that had settled on them.

It worked. Sirius shot him a grin, "I'll have you know that I am a genius and am frankly, offended that you would believe otherwise." He said teasingly.

"Whatever you say." Remus said, patting him on the arm patronizingly.

They continued wander aimlessly down the street, buying sweets to keep them sustained as they went, "Remind me, when are the letters due to be sent out?" Peter asked, as forgetful as ever as he munched on his third fizzing whizbee.

"Sometime this week." Remus replied, "They better not take too long though, I'm dying to get my O. ."

"How'd you think you went?" Peter enquired.

"I smashed Defense Against the Dark Arts." Sirius arrogantly replied, "And we all know that DADA is the only really important subject right now."

"I'm stressing over my Potions." James said reluctantly. "Dad will slaughter me if I don't get an E at least."

"Poor Jamie-poo," Sirius mocked, pinching his cheeks.

"Shove off." James laughed, pushing his friend roughly.

It was getting dark over the London streets and the crowd had nearly fully dissipated.

They decided to call it a day just before it got dark to avoid the nightly Ministry patrols and headed off. Remus's parents, were spending the day in Muggle London, visiting Mrs. Lupin's family and he ran off to catch the bus, an amusing scene to the pure- blooded James and Sirius whom had never had a need to use public transport of the Muggle kind. With a hurried goodbye and promise to meet again tomorrow, he boarded the bus.

Peter had a room in the pub, as did James. Sirius, however, began the trek back to Grimmauld Place with a grimace.

Peter and James trudged up the stairs to the rooms of the Leaky Cauldron just as the last lights flickered into oblivion and Tom, the innkeeper, shuffled behind the bar to his own room.

James was exhausted as he collapsed onto his bed, faintly wondering whether Sirius made it home okay but not possessing enough consciousness to establish his thoughts further.

The streetlights danced in and out of fluorescent illumination, harshly lighting the small patch of grey sidewalk below. Sirius trudged, hands in pockets, down the street towards his reluctant home.

The house sensed Sirius' approach and opened up before him, revealing a large, stately looking townhouse.

Opening the door, he was greeted by the sound of his mother loudly complaining about him, not for the first time.

"Where is that boy? I swear he's more Potter than Black these days." Walburga Black carped. "What do you think Orion? The boy doesn't appreciate the institution he was born into."

Sirius lingered at the door to the sitting room where his parents were sat, what they were saying wasn't exactly new but Sirius could feel himself settling into a bad mood, and he was looking for something to get him entirely pissed off. His parents were generally good at that sort of thing.

"At least the Potter's are pure blood, even though they are _blood traitors_ not like that Lupin character he hangs around with." Orion sniffed.

"And don't forget that Pettigrew character, their whole little gang is run amok with blood traitors and half bloods." Walburga added, keen to add to the criticisms of her son's friends. "The whole lot of them are filthy."

Sirius grabbed the doorknob ready to burst in and do… well, he didn't know what he'd do… something stupid probably. But before he yanked the door open, he felt someone grab his shoulder and pull him back.

It was Regulus; his once scrawny little brother had shot up during the summer and now looked like the spitting image of Sirius himself when he was 15 (albeit with less of the rugged charm Sirius had become known for).

"What do you want?" Sirius demanded, shrugging off his brothers' hand.

"For you to not get yourself killed." Regulus replied, "Give it a rest, nothing you say is going to get them to change their mind about you _or_ your friends."

Sirius grunted, he knew that his brother was right; nothing he said or did _was_ going to get them to change their minds.

"Yeah… well… whatever Reg… just mind your own business." Sirius responded, "leave me alone." He stomped up the stairs like the dramatic teenager he was, leaving his brother without a backwards glance.

He continued to stomp down the hall, pushing passed Kreacher till he reached his room, kicking the door open and slamming it behind him.

His room was his safe haven in the hell that was 12 Grimmauld Place. The red Gryffindor banners were a stark contrast the gloom of green, black and silver that covered the rest of the house and the risqué pictures of scantily clad Muggle girls on motorbikes were particularly irksome to his conservative witch mother.

He kicked his trunk in anger; his fury had come on aggressively and all at once. He'd been like this all summer, fine with his friends and progressively more resentful at home. He supposed there was some psychological reason behind it that Remus would delight in unraveling, however Sirius had no intention of talking it out.

He grabbed the quaffle that had been carelessly thrown onto the floor and leaned back onto his bed, one arm behind his head. Throwing it methodically up and down. His own personal brand of therapy.

 _Up_

'Stupid bigots, don't know what they're talking about.'

 _Down_

'Think they're so _pure_ and perfect.'

 _Up_

'So obsessed with blood… can't see anything else.'

 _Down_

He had lost track of time when he felt his eyes droop, it was only when he missed the quaffle and received a large smack square in the nose that he decided it was best to go to sleep.

He changed out of his leather jacket and jeans while rubbing his wounded nose. He swore, cursing the quaffle and his own exhaustion.

It was well past one AM when Sirius finally crawled into his stately bed and turned off the lights with a wave of his wand (getting busted for underage magic wasn't of the greatest concern to him).

When he finally slipped into unconsciousness it was to the sound of his brother walking around in the room next door, the family house elf pottering about the stairs and his parents having a row in the living room.

The last conscious thought of the night slipped into his head, _I really fucking hate this house._


End file.
